No Place Like Home
by Northern-Southern Belle
Summary: Neal always said that his goal was to help Emma fulfill her destiny. But what if he actually managed it by bringing David to New York City through a portal to meet his daughter and convince her to come home with him to the Enchanted Forest? AU. One-shot


Disclaimer: only the plot belongs to me.

It was the night of his and Snow's engagement party, and Charming closed the ring box with a snap, then turned with a start as a servant knocked on the door and startled him.

"Sorry about that, sir," the servant said. "I just came to tell you that everyone is waiting for you downstairs. Are you ready to join them all, or do you need time to prepare?"

"I'm ready," Charming replied. "Please tell everyone I'll be down in a few minutes." The servant nodded, gave a small bow, and left, leaving Charming alone. "Well, Mother," he said to the empty room. "You wanted me to give your ring to the love of my life, and tonight, I am." Then, taking a deep breath, he left his room, walked down the hallway, and made it down the stairs, and into the ballroom, where all the guests applauded and Snow came to kiss him. He embraced her, then looked around at the guests assembled. "Thank you all for coming," he said as waiters handed out wine for a toast. "We are here tonight to celebrate the engagement of me, and my beloved Snow White, and I cannot tell you what an honor it is to have all of you here with us tonight. To us. May the rest of our life together be as happy as it is this evening."

The rest of the crowd raised their glasses and repeated the toast. It was then, out of the corner of his eye, that Charming noticed a young man in strange clothes that he'd never seen before. He didn't look dangerous. He was just standing off to the side in the room, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. It was as if he didn't want to be seen. Leaving Snow's side, Charming began to stride toward the man.

"Charming, what's the matter?" Snow asked, trying to follow him.

"Nothing you have to concern yourself with," David replied and drew out his sword. The crowd gasped as he approached the strangely dressed man, who of course, ran from him, leading him on a chase throughout the castle, and out the doors into the dark and rainy night.

He followed the man onto an old wooden bridge that was full of rotten planks of wood. One wrong move and they'd both go plunging into the fast moving water below. Not knowing this, the would be thief threw something off the bridge, and there was a flash of green light. He took a step and the bridge broke. Charming grabbed his hand just in time to stop him from falling into the swiring green vortex below.

"Let me go!" The young man (whose hood had fallen from his face) shouted. "It's okay. If you let me go, I won't die."

"I know that!" Charming called. "That's a portal we're over. I just want to know who you are, and what you were doing in my castle. Have you come to steal from me?"

"No, I've come to _help_ you," the young man called back. "But I can't _do_ that unless you let me go!"

Suddenly, the young man's weight became too much for Charming and the old bridge to hold and the two men fell into the portal, with Charming having no idea where he would end up next.

* * *

When he was next aware, Charming found himself lying on a sofa in a cluttered apartment and staring at a yapping dog that was restrained behind a gate. He put a hand to his head to try and stop the aching. It was as if he'd had too much to drink, but he knew that it was one of the effects of using a portal. A few minutes later, the young thief he'd tried to stop from robbing the palace appeared. He was dressed in a t-shirt and boxer shorts, and he hadn't yet shaved.

"Would you be quiet, Bart?" He yelled at the yapping dog, who stopped barking temporarily and lay down on the kitchen floor as the young man turned his attention to Charming. "How are you feeling?" He asked. "Are you all right?"

"Where am I?" He asked the young man. "Who are you? If it's money you want, I'll give it to you. Just tell me where I am!"

"All right, all right, relax!" The young man replied. "My name is Neal, you're in New York, and I brought you here for a very special reason."

"And what reason would that be?" Charming asked.

"I'll get you some coffee, and then I'll explain," Neal replied. And then he did just that, bringing the coffee in and setting it down on the table. "First," he said, "I bet you're wonder how I know about portals. Well, my real name is Baelfire. My father is Rumplestiltskin. Do I need to say anymore?"

"No," Charming replied, and tried to pick up the coffee cup. "Continue, Neal."

"Well, now comes the part you might have more trouble believing," Neal said. "When you left your engagement party, was your wife pregnant?"

"Yes!" Charming said in amazement. "How-how would you know that?"

"I know it because the kid that your wife is pregnant with was my girlfriend. Her name is Emma, and I heard that she's gonna be some big important person in the Enchanted Forest, but she got sent here instead. I thought that if I brought you here, you could take her home."

"Are you telling me the truth?" Charming asked, feeling a little stunned. "Are you telling me that my future daughter is here right now?"

Suddenly, a young woman with long blonde hair, wearing jeans, a leather jacket, and boots poked her head in through one of the side windows. "Hey, Neal," she said. "Do you have the pointy thing for my palm pilot? I gave it to you and when you gave it back to me, you didn't give me the pointy thing!"

"Just a minute, let me go see if I can find it," Neal replied. "In the mean time, Emma, this is a friend of mine. You two talk amongst yourselves."

Emma nodded and made her way into the apartment as Charming stared at her in shock. When Neal had told him that his and Snow's child was here, he hadn't really believed it, but now, here she was, standing in front of him, all grown up.

"You all right?" She asked. "You're staring."

"Sorry," Charming blinked and shook his head. "I-I didn't mean to, but...you remind me of someone. Someone very beautiful. I'm David, by the way. Prince David. But my wife Snow calls me Charming."

Emma heard this and shook it off. "I'm not beautiful," she said. "And nice to meet you, David."

"Well, I disagree," Charming replied. "Are you engaged to anyone?"

"At the moment, no," Emma replied. "Why? Are you asking?"

"No, no!" Charming replied quickly. "Not that, as I said before, I don't find you attractive, but...it's complicated."

"Commitment issues?" Emma nodded. "Of course. So typical of Neal's friends. You know, he and I were engaged for who knows how many years before I finally decided to break it off. But at least I had my career to fall back on."

"You're career woman?" Charming asked. "What is it that you do?"

"I'm in law enforcement," Emma replied. "You know, catching bad guys and putting them in jail? I'm heading to work just as soon as Neal gives me my pointy thing."

"How interesting," Charming replied.

"Really?" Emma asked. "Thank you. I was preparing for a lecture about how law enforcement isn't a good job for a woman."

"Well, why would you think I'd say that?" Charming asked.

Emma shrugged. "Because everyone else does."

"Well, you won't catch me saying that," David replied. "I'm a prince, and my soon-to-be wife Snow White and I rule over the enchanted forest."

Just then, Neal came back into the room with Emma's palm pilot stylus. "Here," he said.

"Thank you," Emma replied, and then locked eyes with Charming. "Tell Neal to take you to the hospital," she said. "I think you've fallen on your head or something." Then, she disappeared.

"What was that about?" Neal asked.

"I told her where I came from and she seems to think I'm crazy!" David said.

"Well, you can't blame her," Neal replied. "She doesn't know anything about the Enchanted forest and she thinks you and Snow White abandoned her. She's not much for magic and happy endings."

"Well, we'll have to fix that, won't we?" David replied.

* * *

As Emma left the precinct at the end of the day, she was surprised to find David waiting for her. "Hey," she said. "You're Neal's crazy friend, right?"

"I'm not crazy!" David replied. "I'm perfectly sane."

"Right," Emma nodded. "You think you're a prince who's married to Snow White, a _fairy tale_ character, and you expect me to believe that you're sane? That and the way you're dressed just screams 'I'm crazy'."

"Why?" David asked, looking down at himself. "What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?"

"You look like a psychotic escapee from a Renaissance fair!" Emma cried, gesturing wildly at his outfit. "No one in their right mind dresses like that. Now, if you don't mind, it's Friday, and I just want to go home and relax."

"Would you do one thing with me first?" David asked. "Please? It won't even take very long, and I think you'll enjoy it."

"Fine," Emma sighed. "Whatever." He led her to the horse and carriage he'd hired when all of a sudden, he heard a cry. "Help!" A woman called out. "A man stole my purse!"

They watched as the woman chased after her purse snatcher. Emma prepared to give chase, but David put a restraining hand on her arm. "Don't," he said. "I have a quicker way to catch him then on foot."

"All right," Emma replied. "Whatever." Then, to her surprise, David pulled her up on the horse and the two of them went galloping after the purse snatcher until they finally cornered him in an alley.

"I am an expert horseman," David told the thief. "No matter how far you run, I will catch you. Now, will you surrender the lady's valuables, or do we have to do this the hard way?"

The thief stared at David in shock and dropped the purse while Emma read him his rights and cuffed him. David got off the horse and picked up the purse, going to return it to its relieved owner. "Wow," Emma said when he returned and they had driven to drop the thief off at the police station. "That was amazing."

"Thank you," David replied. "I'm glad I was able to help that woman. Now, you were saying something about going home and relaxing?"

"Yes," Emma nodded. "That-that sounds nice." She was amazed when David offered to go home with her and even more when he walked her inside her apartment and made sure she was settled.

"Are you going to be all right?" He asked her.

"Yes," she replied. "Thank you for bringing me home."

"You're welcome," David replied. "Goodnight, Emma."

He left, and she finished her bath, then tucked herself into bed, feeling a sense of well-being that she'd never felt before. It was nice. She hoped it would stick around.

* * *

"And just where have you been?" Neal asked when David returned to the apartment.

"I was bonding with Emma," David replied. "Why? Was I not supposed to?"

"Well, of course you are," Neal replied. "The whole reason I brought you here was to convince Emma to go back to the enchanted forest with you and fulfill her destiny. But you have to be careful walking around outside. We don't want someone to take you away to jail.

"No, we don't," David replied. "All right. I won't go outside. I'll be either here or at Emma's."

"Good," Neal replied. "That seems the safest plan of action."

"All right," David said. "I'm going to bed. Have a good evening."

"You too," Neal replied. "Good night."

* * *

The next morning, Emma awoke to the sound of the smoke alarms going off, and the smell of something burning in the air.

"Oh, my god!" She cried, running out as David muttered angrily. "What's going on?"

"This contraption is a menace!" He cried.

Emma got rid of some of the smoke and then turned on a fan to blow the rest of it away. "It's just a toaster," she said. "What's your problem with it?"

"It can't produce decent toast," David replied. "You push it down once, you get warm bread. You push it down twice, the toast becomes burnt. You'd have to push it down one and a half times to get the toast cooked evenly, and you can't do that. Why?"

"I've never really thought about that," Emma replied. "Everyone just pushes their toast down twice."

Finally, after a couple more tries, David managed to get the toast the way he liked it, set it on a tray with some other breakfast food, and then urged Emma to sit.

"Why?" She asked.

"You should eat," David replied. "You don't take the time, do you?"

"I eat," Emma nodded as she began scarfing down eggs. "Not as much as I'd like, but I do."

"You know," David told her, "Where I come from, people take time to enjoy food. Eating is an experience, not a chore."

"Yeah, in the enchanted forest," Emma asked. "I'm sure it is."

David sighed and said nothing more until Emma finished eating, then watched as she began to do the dishes. "Don't," he said. "I'll do them."

"You don't have to," Emma replied.

"But I want to," David insisted. "Go sit."

She went and turned the TV on, and watched it until David came back in. Then she turned it off and faced him. "Who are you really?" She asked. "I mean, what you say about yourself is nuts, but you don't _seem_ crazy."

"I'm not," David replied. "You-you're an orphan, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Emma nodded. "My parents left me on the side of the road. Then I got put in the foster care system and I spent my life moving from house to house. I never really had a good idea about what family was."

"If you could meet your parents," David continued, "What would you say to them?"

"I would ask why they gave me up," Emma replied. "And why they just left me on the side of the road like that."

"We didn't mean to," Charming told her. "That was just where the portal ended up being. And Snow was supposed to be there with you, but there wasn't enough room in the dresser, cause you were born before Snow had a chance to leave."

Emma's jaw dropped. "You're kidding me." She said. "You're not telling me that I'm the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming."

"It's true, Emma," David replied. "You are. And we need you back home. That's the reason Neal brought me here."

Emma's face changed and she started to cry a little, then the tears dried up, and to Charming's surprise, she slapped him.

"How dare you?" She asked. "I pour out my feelings to you, even though you're a complete stranger and you_ mock _me? What did I ever do to deserve that?"

"Your blanket that you were found with...is it purple and white with your name embroidered on it?" David asked.

"Yeah," Emma nodded. "How-how did you know?"

"Cause that's what you were wrapped up in after you were born," David replied. "What you were wrapped up in when I put you in the portal and sent you away to what your mother and I hoped would be a place of safety for you. We didn't plan for things to be as bad as they have been for you."

"Oh, my god," Emma replied, running her fingers through her hair. "You're serious."

"Yes," David replied. "I am."

Emma sighed. "So what...what do we do now?"

"Well," David said, "ideally, you would come back to the enchanted forest with me and save us all from the tyrannical rule of the evil queen."

"But I-I can't!" Emma said. "I have a job!"

"Do you like your job?" David asked.

"No, not really," Emma replied. "But it pays the bills."

"If you came with me," David told her, "You'd be with family. You'd never have to worry about being alone again."

"You mean if the evil queen doesn't kill us all," Emma said.

"She won't!" David replied. "Cause you're going to save us!"

Emma sighed. "I'm not saying I believe you, but...could you give me a minute?"

"Of course," David replied. She then got up and ran to Neal's apartment. "Did you know that your friend David lives in a place called the enchanted forest, and is married to Snow White? And not only that, he's my father!"

"Yeah, I knew that," Neal replied. "That's why I called up a portal and brought him here."

"How does a person like yourself know about portals and people that live in the enchanted forest?" Emma asked.

"Cause I used to live there before I had a falling out with my father, Rumplestiltskin," Neal replied. "He taught me about all that stuff."

"Your father is Rumplestiltskin?" Emma asked. "He's real too?"

"Yep," Neal nodded. "_And_ Captain Hook and Peter Pan. But don't ask me about my relationships with those two. I can't even begin to explain." He paused. "So, are you gonna go home with David and save everyone?"

Emma sighed. "Why not?" She asked. "Even if it's all cursed, it can't be worse than my life here."

"Good," Neal replied. "You dress, and I will too, and then you and I and David will go back to the enchanted forest where we all belong."

"Yeah," Emma said."No place like home, right?"

After she dressed, she met Neal and David in a well hidden corner behind the apartment building. When no one was watching, Neal put a bean down and Emma's eyes widened as it turned into a swirling vortex. "Take my hand," David said to her. "It'll be all right. All we have to do is jump!" So she took his hand in one of hers, and Neal's in the other, and, not knowing what would happen next, she jumped into the portal. The savior was coming home.


End file.
